AMMAN — The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) on Monday celebrated its 40 year anniversary, honouring its various partners for the joint work exerted to enhance human and social development in Jordan.

HRH Princess Basma, chairperson of JOHUD′s board of trustees and patron of the ceremony, said at the event: “The fund&prime;s achievements over the past 40 years would not have been possible without the effective partnerships with the various institutions of the public and private sectors, the civil society and international organisations working in Jordan.”

Held under the title “Commemorating 40 years of Partnership Looking Towards the Future”, the ceremony was attended by several ministers, ambassadors and representatives of local and international organisations, in addition to JOHUD partners.

During her speech, the princess highlighted the importance of the trust, credibility, hard work and devotion of JOHUD and its partners in providing the best services to the Jordanian people, and in pushing forward the human, social and economic development process in the Kingdom.

She stressed JOHUD&prime;s commitment to these partnerships and the fund&prime;s keenness on developing them.

Princess Basma highlighted that the fund has become a “hub for expertise” in finding successful tools to meet development challenges through its specialised entities and centres, especially in the area of poverty alleviation and unemployment.

JOHUD&prime;s Executive Director Farah Daghistani outlined the fund&prime;s main programmes in tackling poverty and unemployment, noting that the 51 Princess Basma centres for development reach around 1 million beneficiaries per year.

Daghistani also reviewed the programmes and activities carried out by the Princess Basma Community Development Centres across the Kingdom, which target various segments of society.

Qais Tarawneh, director of the Queen Zain Al Sharaf Institute for Development, JOHUD&prime;s training arm, presented the work mechanism in the social support network targeting the most vulnerable categories.

JOHUD is the oldest and largest nongovernmental organisation dedicated to promoting rights based, sustainable human development in Jordan, a JOHUD statement said.